Homeward Bound (aka Far Galaxy Housing)
by pingou
Summary: Homeward bound/I wish I was/Homeward Bound. All our favorite characters ended up living in the same real estate complex, and life is never easy in Far Galaxy Housing, and outside of it. Modern AU Multi-POV (RebelC, HxL, among others!)
1. Jyn I

_**Homeward Bound (aka Far Galaxy Housing)**_

 _AN: This is dedicated to_ _ **JustKeepOnTheGrass**_ _, and our shared love for Paul Simon's music. This one is longer, several chapters planned, so stick with me, juicy stuff coming soon ! Read and review if you wish to._

 **I. Jyn — Kathy's Song**

 _I hear the drizzle of the rain  
Like a memory it falls  
Soft and warm continuing  
Tapping on my roof and walls_

 _And from the shelter of my mind  
Through the window of my eyes  
I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets  
To England, where my heart lies_

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Most mornings, Jyn cannot figure out how she ended up like this.

She wakes up, hears the rain falling on her Velux window, her hand still clutching her truncheons under her pillow, and smells fresh coffee. She loves the smell, even if she cannot stomach to drink the stuff. After all she has gone through since she was eight years old, she is still British enough to prefer Earl Grey tea.

She pulls herself out of bed, rubs her sandpaper eyelids, swallows the bitter aftertaste of whiskey in her mouth and crawls towards the kitchen.

Han Solo is glaring at his caf like it just insulted his beloved "Millennium Falcon" — the amount of love the smuggler has for his battered crate is ridiculous, but it's not the point. Neither Chewie nor Lando seem to be around and Jyn is relieved. Their cohabitation is hard enough as it is.

"Hi Solo. Where's the rest of your little scoundrel band?"

"Dunno kid, couldn't care less at the moment."

He is obviously more hungover than she is, but she does not care. He brought that on himself: everyone knows you cannot compete with Calrissian in a drinking contest, the guy has two livers and then some. Hell, she managed to out drink that giant oaf of Chewbacca before passing out, but she knew she couldn't go any further without ending in the nearest OR. See, she gained some sense since she ended up on the streets at sixteen, waiting endlessly for Saw Gerrera.

She finds a tea bag, and uses hot water directly from the tap. She hears distantly Bodhi yelping in outrage at the thought of a tea "with no proper infusion process", but the little shit left her to deal with her shady acquaintances for the week-end — hence the orgy last night. Her best friend would have talked her out of it, or at least made sure she did not drink herself into stupor.

There are boxes everywhere. Bodhi and she moved in the Far Galaxy Housing complex three months ago — along with Han and Chewie — but they have not settled yet. They never do, anywhere. Not since Saw abandoned her, not since Cadet Rook lost all of his relatives in a fire and dropped out of the academy.

They met by chance in Saw's Bar in London, "The Partisans". She had been fifteen and he soon to be eighteen, so both stood out between adults planning Force-knows-what. Bodhi said he was Galen Erso's messenger and even though she already went by Kestrel Dawn at the time, she sought him out. Her father was one of his superiors, and he was familiar enough with his features to instantly recognize the mint green eyes she inherited from him. Then they lost contact for a while, six months or so, and it is actually thanks to Han they met each other again, in a Scottish pub of all places.

She tried to gamble money from the American, and while they chatted on, he mentioned he and his associate just took in a pilot intern kid who had the same British accent she had. He hailed Bodhi and their eyes met. When Han tried to do the presentation — "Bodhi Rook, this is Lyra", he just smiled in this shy way of his, and said "Yes, I know, she's Jyn Lyra Erso, named after her mother. I'm still Bodhi though, if you don't mind."

It's one of the few times they found Han Solo speechless.

"What has you smiling like that, Erso?"

Han seems a bit more aware of his surroundings, and he has just cut her trip to memory lane short: it's just as well, for what followed is not worth remembering. Bodhi and she in black clothes, rain and tears on their faces, as they watch the entire Rook family being buried. Rain brings her to that fateful day a few weeks later on the Eadu platform where she lost her father to a gunshot. She hates the bloody rain with the fierceness of a thousand hells, but she can still see it drenching slowly the street below through the window.

"I just remembered the day I met Bodhi again," she finally says too sharply to chase the heartbreak away.

Her roommate lifts an eyebrow at her brusque change of tone and her sour mood, but he shrugs. That is why she likes Han, he never pushes, and he is easygoing most of the time.

Until suddenly they hear a familiar female posh voice outside their front door and instantly it is Solo's time to frown :

"It's preposterous, Tarkin can't choose to rise rent as he pleases, half the residents are already apartment-sharing due to the exorbitant price of that damn building! The management committee won't sit still for it!"

"It's not worth raging over, Lee, come on, I'll ask Father the next time I see him…" the calm voice of her blond brother intervenes.

"Vader can go fuck himself for all I care!"

Talk about Daddy issues : between Galen and Saw she is not one to judge, but Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker bring family mess on a whole new level. Twins separated at birth, the girl went to her Godfather Bail Organa in Washington DC while the boy was taken in by their uncle on a farm near the Mojave Desert in California. The mother was a famous liberal senator and the father had been a former war veteran, "the Hero With No Fear". Anakin Skywalker may or may have not known fear then, but since he took the name of Vader and became the second man in the country after Palpatine seized power, he's the one terrorizing people. That's why the twins were separated at birth (they were born on Empire Day, it's no coincidence). They only ended up sharing the flat across from theirs when their respective guardians passed away a few months ago, and their uncle Ben had brought them together.

The amount of orphans and lost souls in that building is oddly high, if you ask Jyn. Force, she hates being hangover, she always thinks too much, and gets lost in her own musings. That's why she was does not prevent Han from opening the door on said twins and growling:

"If Vader can go fuck himself, so do you, your Worship!"

Oh, they're screwed. Luke astonished face loses color when his sister reddens and her dark eyes blaze.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I won't excuse you at all, you don't get to screech about your bastard of a Dad up to my bloody door. Some of us need peace!"

"I don't screech you stuck up, half-witted scruffy-looking nerf herder! It's not my fault you're probably nursing a hangover!"

The woman is so on point Jyn can't help but snort and even Skywalker has to hide a smile, his clear blue eyes twinkling (Bodhi has a thing for him, so she notices details about her best friend's crush, so she can tease him later).

"Who's scruffy? I'm not scruffy lookin' ! And who said anything about me being hangover? If I've got an headache, it's only because of you princess!"

These two really don't know when to stop… Their aggressive flirting is starting to get on her nerves, and she debates going back inside the apartment and slamming the door in their faces. The "don't leave me alone with them" vibe she gets from Skywalker is the only reason why she has not yielded to her instincts yet. It would be like kicking a puppy and Bodhi's crush or not, even she is not that cruel.

"Could have fooled us, we're near enough to have heard the ruckus you all made last night! The next time it happens, we're calling the cops!"

"Lee, could you not bring me into this, please?" The blond asks with a long suffering sigh.

"Some of us have a life, senator, and despite how much the Empire tries to crush our freedom every day, it's not a crime! You're nineteen turning on ninety, you know that? You need to lessen up."

"I hope you're not offering your services?"

For Force' sake! That's it, on a whim, Jyn reaches for Skywalker's hand and somehow pulls him back in the apartment after her. If Solo makes his move, no one needs to see that.

He stands a bit awkwardly in the doorway, so Jyn gestures for him to sit.

"Tea, coffee, milk? I fear there's not a single drop of liquor left."

"Oh, it's fine, a glass of milk would be nice, thank you."

Is this guy real? He can't have come from the same womb as Leia Organa… he's far too polite and nice and quiet. And a glass a milk, should she try to find some cookies to go with it? But well, she did offer after all.

The corridor has turned oddly silent, but that doesn't mean the coast is clear. For a few seconds, the patter of the rain that is keeping on falling on the roof is the only thing that can be heard, until he says:

"I love the rain, don't you? On the farm, growing up, it was so dry we used to long for it, my Aunt Beru and I. It's refreshing, soft and peaceful, brings back good memories."

It's really not. Rain is her mother falling on the grass of their English garden to never stand up again. Rain is her cold and wet in London, rain is Bodhi shaking in the cemetery, rain is her father gasping Stardust as she cradles his face in the middle of the Noth Sea. Jyn, let go, you gotta get out of here, murmurs an Mexican accented voice in her mind, and finally she snaps out of it.

There is something akin to compassion in Skywalker's gaze now, and once again, she curses her weakened state. When sober, she doesn't let her emotions show. She doesn't think of her time in UK at all, period.

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she deflects automatically.

She refuses to bond with her neighbor more than absolutely necessary. She is not charming like Han, she is not boastful like Lando, not trustworthy like Chewie, and sure as hell not as friendly as Bodhi. She doesn't do people, people always leave in the end.

"Thanks from saving me back there anyway," he tries again with an hint of a smile.

"You're welcome. If you ask me, we'll all have to club up and rent them an hotel room. The sexual tension and constant bickering is driving every tenants insane."

"Tell me about it," he says, pulling a face, "but she's stubborn and he's dense, so this could go on for quite a while still…"

"You can crash here a bit, if you want to. I don't mind and Bodhi should be here soon."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't want M. Rook to think I'm imposing in any way, but —"

Finally, Jyn thinks as she struggles to hold back a snigger, the twins are similar, they are just as dense and obvious when it brushes feelings. The poor guy has turned beef red and he sinks further in his ramblings. It's hilarious to watch, and her spirits are momentarily lifted. As if on cue, Bodhi enters then, and between Skywalker and he, Jyn really wish she had her phone at hand to capture their identical deer in the headlights expressions.

But when she chooses to leave the two men together, pretexting the need to lay down a bit, walls close down her and she lets herself curl in a tight ball against her bedroom door. She is kind of claustrophobic — comes with experience — and she clutches her mother's crystal necklace for reassurance: Trust in the Force.

She has gone too far and too often down memory lane since she woke up, bringing back ghosts of her past, and now they are haunting her. It's still raining outside, and soon it rains on her cheeks too. Loneliness chokes her, but she can't move from her spot yet. She could go back into the room, sit beside Bodhi, watch his awkward conversation with Skywalker enfold, see if Han finally graced them with his presence, if Chewie came back… but she's struck, condemned to stare at the pitiful blotches left by water on the glass above, on her clothes beneath.

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.

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 _And as I watch the drops of rain  
Weave their weary paths and die  
I know that I am like the rain  
There but for the grace of you go I_


	2. Cassian I

**II. Cassian — Flowers never bend with the rainfall**

Through the corridors of sleep

Past shadows, dark and deep

My mind dances and leaps in confusion

I don't know what is real

I can't touch what I feel

And I hide behind the shield of my illusion

So I'll continue to continue to pretend

My life will never end

And flowers never bend

With the rainfall

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Cassian Jeron Andor is used to follow orders, even to a fault. His upbringing in the poorest part of Mexico didn't leave much choice.

He had lost all his family by the time he was six, first to an earthquake and then to an Empire "retribution of political disorder", and he had been taken in by a military man, Major Davits Draven. He was strict, unrelenting, but Cassian owes him everything that he is now. So when he and Mon Mothma asked for him to infiltrate the Far Galaxy Housing real estate, he did so without question. He would wait for instructions like a good little soldier.

After four years, it is still hard to go on mission without Kay, but he manages. John Kay has been his best friend, his favorite partner for seven years, since the Mexican was nineteen. When they met, Kay was already twenty-eight, a British statistician and engineer of genius, but socially inept (he never said, but Cassian is quite sure he suffered from Asperger syndrom). He died, riddled with bullets, in the Scarif Research Center, so that the mission could be completed. A mission where they had defied orders, and went Rogue with an handful of civilians, for the greater good. It had been their only infringement and he literally went to hell for that. Most days, Kay's monotonous voice saying goodbye for the last time tortures Cassian a lot more than the limp he got since (he fell from the twelveth floor a damn building, it's a miracle he is still alive, let alone on his feet).

Captain Andor follows orders blindly, now. Orders are all he has left.

Or so he thought.

Entering in the elevator, his bag — only filled with the utmost necessities — instantly falls to the floor. All his spy training flies from his head as he finds Bodhi Rook gasping his name in the tiny cabin, trembling as a leaf.

He doesn't think as he pulls the shaking lean man in an embrace, clutching him and trying to shift furtively his weight on his good side.

"Force, Cassian... I... How? Why are you here? I can't believe, I can't process it..."

Process it. One of Kay's favorite verbal tic. Both recoil as if slapped and Bodhi clears his throat, wiping his wetting eyes. For his part, Cassian's mind is still reeling and can't utter a single sound yet. His long lost friend seems okay, if otherwise shocked out of his wits: his thick black hair is shorter than the unkempt cut he sported four years ago, his face less gaunt, his gaze steadier.

And if Rook looks this improved, that means he is certainly not alone.

"Jyn, where is she?"

Smooth, Andor, Kay says dryly in a corner of his mind, as he sees Bodhi grimace and close his eyes. After years apart, her name still comes unbidden to his lips, kind of like Chirrut used to intone his prayers, his Mexican accent softening the sound of her name. Baze had told him once Jyn meant gold in Chinese, for her mother had been a follower of their religion, and thus chose a strong and pretty name for her daughter.

Strong and pretty she was the moment he saw her, he hopes she remains as shiny and resilient and unblemished, too.

"She... she's around, Cassian."

"Of course she is. You're never far from her."

Unlike me.

He is truly pathetic, he knows that, to pine for her so openly after all these years. Kay would have scoffed at his stupidity, for sure, maybe actually smacking the back of his head, sprouting figures about his lack of restraint when it comes to Jyn Erso, but Bodhi only shakes his head.

"I... are you visiting someone?"

"It's work related."

Rook wants to know if he came for Jyn, for him, perhaps, but tries to be aloof about it. It's commendable, but useless, because the pilot always had a glass face. Neither of them tried to push a single button yet, so the elevator is still stuck on the ground floor. It's appropriate, but he cannot delay his meeting any longer, so instead of rising the bait, Cassian's finger presses on the seventh floor, where General Ben Kenobi is supposed to wait for him. Bodhi can't repress a jolt at that, and doesn't reach for the panel as they start their assent.

He lives there, on this very floor, which means he might run into Jyn sometime, and at this realization, his heartbeat gets embarrassingly quicker... Whether she bunked in with Rook or not, she is bound to come see him. Cassian is not sure if he wants to see her or not, but what is certain is that he is not at all prepared to breathe the same air as she again.

When they reach their destination, they bump into each other trying to come out, and Bodhi's eyes widen as he takes in the slower and more careful way Cassian walks since Scarif. Thankfully for the Mexican's pride, he keeps his mouth shut, and if there's recognition in his black eyes, he is kind enough not to address the obvious. Then he stays two steps behind while Cassian looks for the number of Ben Kenobi's flat.

Which is the one situated across from Bodhi's, apparently. Cassian rises an eyebrow, seeing his friend hesitate to enter his own home, but before they can have proper goodbyes — not like last time — someone opens the door on them:

"Captain Andor, here you are, I've been expecting you."

At once, Cassian appraises former General Ben Kenobi: There's something odd in his clothing, but he can't pinpoint what. He has the weathered face of someone who aged prematurely, but a sharp mind under grey-blue eyes, for all that.

"Forgive my tardiness, Sir—"

"It's my fault, Ben, actually... I haven't seen Cassian in a very long time and I delayed him, the blame is on me."

He had not expected Bodhi to vouch for him like this, at once and with a voice that doesn't quiver in the slightest. It's nice of him, Cassian thinks, no one has had his back for so long, now, that he hopes the cinnamon colored man can read the gratitude on his face.

"Really?" Kenobi asks, stroking his white beard thoughtfully. "How interesting... don't worry on my account though, you're not so late. But you certainly will be, Mr. Rook, if you don't hurry, you were just about to go out, were you not?"

"Yes, I... I forgot something, that's all, have a good day."

"You too, Bodhi, it was really nice meeting you again."

If Kenobi wasn't so keen on observing them as if they were rats in a maze, Cassian would have tried more than banalities. You don't exchange courtesies with someone who went willingly to hell and back beside you, estrangement be damned.

But after the last hint of a smile, Bodhi's door closes on him and personal wishes take backseat to the reason why Andor was dispatched here in the first place.

"General, I've been asked to see you."

The old man, thin but eerily graceful, sighs and finally let Cassian into his home. A sparsely decorated one — a stove, a table, three chairs and two cupboards, nothing more. Nothing hung on the wall except three photos:

From his debrief, he recognizes Senator Padmé Amidala Naberrie, and her husband Anakin Skywalker. It's obviously a wedding photo, and a younger version of Kenobi (fleshier, happier) holds them both by the shoulders. Cassian looks at the man who would become Vader, and doesn't remember looking this young, this carefree. Something horribly bitter churns in his stomach, and Andor forces himself to return to matters at hand. Usually he's not so brain-scattered, but Rogue One — the mission, the people — has always been his weakness, the black hole which always threatens to swallow him whole at the first occasion.

Kenobi seems to be a patient man, however, and shows no signs of annoyance at this stalling. Not all Generals are as severe as Draven, and Kenobi officially retired twenty years ago, but Cassian had read about him, knows him by reputation, and he knows the war Veteran, for all his courtesy, is dreadfully effective if need be. If every Rebel commander respects him and fears his actions — or lack of thereof — it's not without good reason. The silent appraisal of Kenobi would be unnerving if Andor wasn't used to use it with his own targets.

"So, Captain Andor, I hear you're moving in the complex? I hope you'll have a pleasant stay here."

The British accent and extreme politeness reminds Cassian of both Kay and Jyn, and he feels like cutting the chase. At this point, eluding would be pointless.

"I guess it'll depend on you General, to be perfectly honest. I've only been told to infiltrate the facility and contact you at once."

"Yes, I know, General Draven is regularly trying to contact me. But first, would you care for some refreshment? You look a bit ruffled, if I may say so."

It wouldn't be polite to refuse, and besides, Cassian does feel lost. His mind is racing, nowhere and everywhere all at once, and his right side is killing him. He needs to sit, but is stubborn enough to deny it until offered. He nurses his glass of water and lets Kenobi educate him on the situation.

"You can tell Rebel intelligence that my answer hasn't changed: I won't use the twins as leverage, Captain. Unless it's their choice, they won't be used as tools against their father, or the Empire at large."

"I'm not even sure it's why I'm here, General."

"Oh, but I am. You're not the first to try to persuade me, or covet the twins for the Rebellion, you know? Leia has already chosen a legal way to fight the Empire, and Luke doesn't want to. There is a reason why I took them back with me after... after the Empire severed their attachments. I'm the only one left to protect them, and I would do so until my last breath."

"Protect them from their father?"

"You're an intelligent man, Andor, do you honestly think Vader doesn't know where they are, and what they do? As vile as he is, if Vader wanted to take them, groom them, he could. Their apparent neutrality is what protect them, from the Empire and the Rebellion both."

Once, Cassian would have bristled at the idea of the Empire and the Rebellion being the same, said neutrality wasn't an option, but that was before what happened on the Eadu platform, before the Scarif Research center. Jyn's voice still echoes in his ears, agreeing with Kenobi : "I've never had the luxury of political opinions," and the worst of it, "Orders? When you know they're wrong? You might as well be a stormtrooper."

"I see," Cassian declares calmly. "If it's truly the goal of the mission I've been sent for, it appears I've been set up for disappointment."

It's not as if it's a novelty, after all. Kenobi's face is kind, but resolute. No matter how much time or tentatives the Rebellion will apply, Ben Kenobi will not withdraw from the stance he adopted, that much is certain. The key of the furnished apartment on fifth floor he just retrieved from the janitor is heavy in his pocket, and Cassian debates admitting defeat before starting.

He could just say he couldn't persuade him and try to forget Bodhi Rook is living a few feet from where he's currently sitting. Leaving the complex at once, just like that, would be the cowardly thing to do, the right thing to do. But as if the man were reading his mind, he adds in a gentle voice:

"You're welcome to try, however, Captain. I've got a feeling you might gain far more than what you've come to seek, in time."

This kind of cryptic platitude instantly brings Chirrut Îmwe to his mind and Cassian feels something like a shudder going along his spine. He can't possibly know what ties him to Bodhi, and the rest of them, whether they are alive or not. Still, he feels like Kenobi sees right though him, and he can only nod his assent. He's been set for a long term infiltration after all, a few days in a luxurious complex such as Far Galaxy Housing cannot hurt.

He tells himself he just follows orders, nothing more, and ignores Jyn's face and Kay's voice calling him on his lie. Cassian Andor is nothing but a good soldier.

.

.

.

No matter if you're born

To play the king or pawn

For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow

So my fantasy

Becomes reality

And I must be what I must be and face tomorrow


End file.
